A Bond Formed and Broken
by ILoveVampireDiaries
Summary: Snow White and The Huntsman verse - The Huntsman and William both love Snow, but when she is captured, and the dwarves disappear, can both men put aside their differences and work together to rescue her? Eric/William. I'm a sucker for bromance xD No slash!
1. Precious

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in Snow White and The Huntsman only this story! (I wish I owned William...*drool*)**

_Hey guys! I've just seen the film and it was AWESOME! I instantly knew I had to write this story for The Huntsman and William (What can I say - I'm a sucker for bromance, which I'm sure you all are too ;))_**  
**

_Btw, I found out that the Huntsman's name is Eric - I really couldn't be bothered to type 'Huntsman' all the time :P  
_

_Please enjoy and Read and Review!  
_

**Chapter one (William's POV):**

William sat on a log next to Snow White and couldn't help staring at her. It felt amazing to find out she was alive, after all this time.

If it wasn't for the fact that he'd nearly been killed by that dwarf (who'd later died), he would have kissed her.

And he was sure she'd have kissed him back.

But looking around, he spied the huntsman, Eric, looking at her out of the corner of his eye too. Almost...possessively.

When William looked back at her, he saw her keep stealing glances at Eric too. What was his deal? Capture her for the Queen, wasn't it?

Not that William was jealous...what had he to be jealous of anyway?

A dirty, rugged huntsman. He was the Duke's son. And Snow's childhood friend!

Shaking his head of these (not) jealous thoughts, he caught Snow shivering, even though they were beside the fire.

Shrugging off his cloak, he brushed it down and leant forward to lend it to her, when he saw her gratefully accept a cloak from someone else.

Glancing up, he saw it was... of course, Eric. Who was really getting on his nerves.

As he turned back to his seat, William swore he just smirked at him!

Breathing in deeply, he noticed that Eric's cloak was shabbier than his own.

Surely Snow would prefer a warmer one?

Getting up. and ignoring Eric's instant penetrating gaze, he went close to Snow and whispered "Much as that cloak might be protection from a few cold spells, this one will bring you comfort Snow, and preserves more warmth."

Gingerly picking the other cloak off her, he was about to toss it away when a strong hand clenched his wrist and twisted it to make it open unwillingly and release what it was holding.

Then Eric removed his cloak from William's hand and tossed his arm away.

Now, William was not weak; years of fighting the Queen's men had brought him essential experience and training, but compared to this huntsman, with just that manoeuvre, Will realised he was just a young man.

Still, that didn't prevent him from rising to the bait.

"Don't touch me," He hissed.

Eric grunted, threw his cloak to one side and walked right up to him. "Or what?"

Although his wrist was still smarting, William reached for his bow and arrow behind him.

Eric saw this movement and laughed out loud, gesturing towards him and addressing their audience. "Look at this man...more like a boy. His best weapon is the bow and arrow..." grabbing Will's collar, he pulled him closer and growled "...A coward's weapon."

William only saw red hot anger and tried to extricate his bow - his movements somewhat restricted because Eric still had hold of his shirt - until Snow shouted

"STOP!"

Everyone froze - the dwarves from cheering, Eric with his fist pulled back, and Will with his hand on an arrow.

Eric shoved William away from him and turned to face Snow. "Whose cloak would you like, princess?"

Snow rolled her eyes and said "Just give me yours, Eric. We haven't got time to squabble over a cloak!" She gave Will a disappointed look.

But he only noticed Eric's grin, and countered it with a dirty look.

Walking beyond the trees, he found a resting place for the night.

He restrained himself from telling Snow that, in truth, they hadn't actually been 'squabbling' over the _cloak, _but something - some_one_ - more precious.

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Please tell me what you think :3

I promise it'll get better in the next chapters! :)


	2. Too Late

_Thank you for all your reviews, they made my day! xD Here's the next chapter, enjoy!  
_

_**LenaLove: **Thank you for your review. On the contrary, Snow was able to lead a whole army to defeat the Queen and her men, therefore, I think she is able to yell ;)  
_

**Chapter Two (William's POV):**

William woke to beautiful birdsong and sleepily blinked his eyes open. Sitting up, he looked for Snow White and watched for a while as her chest steadily rose and fell, indicating she was fast asleep.

"That's creepy you know."

William jumped up, startled. Spinning round, he saw none other than the huntsman leaning against a tree not far from Will's resting place.

Swallowing, just to make sure his voice didn't betray the unsettled feeling he had just had, William glared at him.

"How long have you been there?"

Eric folded his arms "Most of the morning, I like to rise before sunrise."

"Yeah, and _that's _not creepy." Will began to throw his things into his bag.

Eric detached himself from the tree "What's so creepy about waking early?"

William stopped packing his stuff and squinted up. "Not _that_, it's the fact that you've been standing next to where I've been sleeping for so long..." He trailed off when he noticed Eric's expression - as if he didn't know whether amusement or disgust would win.

"Don't flatter yourself." He strode forward without a backward glance.

"No I didn't mean...Hey look - don't get the wrong idea!"

Eric didn't turn around. Not once.

_He probably thinks I'm such an idiot. _Will shook his head - _Why should I care what he thinks of me anyway?_

All Will wanted to do was protect Snow from the never ending dangers that surrounded her - but it seemed that job was being possessed by someone else!

Picking his bag up, he went to wake Snow, but saw that he'd been beaten to it by... well, who do you think?

Looking around, he notice Eric had disappeared. He had a habit of doing that, but just to make sure, William checked behind him.

He didn't trust that man, especially after this morning.

Stretching, he walked over and sat next to Snow, who smiled that dazzling smile of hers and passed him some - rather stale - bread that the dwarves had been carrying with them.

Come to think of it, where had all the dwarves gone?

Sure, they'd been very upset when Gus had died, but that hadn't stopped them from getting excited at the prospect of a fight between him and Eric last night.

"Hey Snow, where have your little hairy friends gone?"

Snow looked up and around, as if she'd not noticed they'd ever left. "Oh...maybe they realised I was too much trouble than I'm worth...?"

Her eyes glistened, and she put down her own bread to quickly wipe her eyes.

William also placed his bread down (maybe a little gratefully), and put his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. "Snow, I don't think that's the reason. They all love you. You're so beautiful, and the princess; the chosen one. Everyone loves you. Well, except for the Queen and her brother..." They both laughed at this, but then Will sobered up quickly and added "_I_ love you."

Snow gazed into his eyes, and William found it impossible to look away.

As a child, she had been so very pretty - that was half the reason why he had teased her constantly.

The other half was that as children, they hadn't needed to worry about love or anything like that, just pure friendship.

He saw her lean closer, and he instinctively mirrored her movements.

Her lips were as red as blood, and he could already feel their tenderness as he leant in and -

"WE'RE BEING AMBUSHED! RUN!"

Before Will could gather his senses, Eric had already charged in and and stamped the fire out, as well as pulled Snow up and away from him, prodding her in the right direction.

Will scrambled up, grabbing his bow and arrows and putting them in place.

Eric looked at him in exasperation "There's no time for that, go after her!"

Will strung an arrow in his bow and was ready to fight. He was _not _going to listen to this huntsman of all people "I'm ace at the bow, I rarely ever miss! If we had time, I'd show you what I can do in a competition but -" Will realised he was babbling. It's what he did in surprise situations like this.

Eric's face - at any other time - could have been described as comical "William...We are about to be slaughtered by the Queen's men, and you want to have a competition?"

Will paused "Well no, not _now _obviously, I meant after -"

Eric seemed to have had enough of this and just shoved Will in the direction which Snow had gone. "Protect her!"

Will frowned at him "But what about y-"

"GO!"

Will would have lied if he said that Eric's expression - coupled with the force of that word - hadn't scared him a little.

Obeying the command, he took off, following Snow's trail. Hearing her scream up ahead, Will ran even faster.

Entering a clearing, he looked wildly round.

On his right, Snow was struggling with the Queen's brother, Finn, who was trying to put her on his horse.

Will ran towards them, notching an arrow at the same time. But he couldn't shoot it, because he was scared that he'd hit Snow!

Instead, throwing his weapon aside, he drew his dagger from his side and charged into Finn.

Releasing Snow (yes, the desired effect!), Finn drew a long scimitar, which seemed more intimidating than William's own puny weapon.

With a menacing grin, Finn started swinging his sword from the left to the right and poking it forward every so often.

Will parried these attacks, and started drawing the guy away from the horse, hoping that Snow would take the hint and ride away.

For what seemed like a long time, they were stuck in the same position - Finn occasionally attacking, Will blocking.

But soon William's arms began to tire. He knew should have taken more lessons in close combat rather than archery.

Suddenly, Snow's short scream (she was still here?) erupted from his left, and was quickly silenced.

Whipping his head to the sound, he saw one of the knights gallop away on the horse, with Snow draped across the back like a ragdoll.

"SNOW!"

Too late, he noticed Finn take his chance and dive in, with a felling swoop.

Barely bringing his dagger up in time, pain burst across his right arm, where a deep gash appeared.

He gasped and fell to one knee, and Finn snatched the dagger from his hand, before raising his own sword high above his head.

Will closed his eyes, knowing he wouldn't be able to get away in time, and prayed that Snow White would become Queen one day.

He waited for the blow that would end his life...but it never came.

Instead, he heard a cry of agony and, opening his eyes, he saw a sword protruding from Finn's midriff.

Peering round him, he saw the huntsman slowly take it out.

Glancing back up, he quickly scrambled backwards as the guy toppled forward.

Eric quickly bent over him and snarled "Don't you dare talk about my wife ever again."

But instead of showing fear, Finn giggled "I don't think I should be the one you vent your anger at."

Eric rolled his eyes "Why not?"

"Because _he" _he pointed at Will, who could only stare as Eric looked towards him with raised eyebrows, then back "let your precious Snow White be captured."

This time, Eric turned around quicker than before, and his expression was more dangerous.

He quickly got up and looked into the distance, where the horse and its occupants could be seen faintly.

"DAMN IT!"

William flinched at the anger in his voice, and took an unsteady step backwards when Eric spun round to face him.

He could see why this man had been called 'the huntsman'.

"All you had to do was protect Snow White. That's all I asked of you. And you couldn't even do that! She's a young girl, how hard could it be?"

He stalked slowly towards William in the fashion of a hunt. Will was unable to look at the fire burning in his eyes, and put up two hands to ward him off - unsuccessfully, it turned out.

Eric suddenly appeared in front of him and punched him, grabbing the shirt so that Will couldn't get away.

"Eric...Eric, wait!"

It seemed that the huntsman was deaf to his pleas, as again he punched him.

Grabbing William's head in his fists, Eric bent down and whispered "You are _useless_! You think Snow will ever look at you the same way again after this? I knew letting you go after her was a mistake!"

"It wasn't my fault! I freed her from Finn who - " Will groaned as he looked towards Finn. Who had conveniently disappeared.

Eric looked at the space he'd left him, and cursed.

Will took this opportunity to do some fighting of his own. He kicked out at Eric's legs, which gave way a little, causing Eric to let go of William's head to steady himself.

Spitting out the blood from biting his tongue, Will jumped up and almost got away.

But Eric didn't seem to be finished with him just yet. He bellowed "It was completely your fault!" and Will felt the most excruciating pain from his right arm as Eric grabbed him where the wound was.

Tumbling backwards, he faintly heard Eric exclaim with surprise before darkness engulfed him.

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Please review! The Huntsman's POV next chapter :)


	3. Destiny

_Oh wow, thank you for all your reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying this!  
_

_I'd like to reiterate that this is a Eric/William story (just bromance), but of course it will inevitably end with either Snow/Eric or Snow/Will._**  
**

_I'm not even sure how it will end, so please don't blame me for what I'm writing now!  
_

_**Aphroditessister: **Thank you =D In reference to your question, please check above ^.^  
_

_**me: **Thank you! (Now it looks like I'm thanking myself...) :P  
_

_**anon: **I AM being true to the movie. If you remember, Snow actually kissed William - she just didn't know it was the Queen! But thank you for your review :)  
_

_**Ninofkonoha: **Thanks for you review I like to know my reader's thoughts! Sadly I don't write slash though!  
_

**Chapter Three (Eric's POV):**

Eric jumped back as William fell down, unconscious.

Staring at his hand, he saw it was covered in blood. A lot of blood! It can't have just been from when he had punched him...

Crouching down, he ripped the shirt sleeve off of William's right arm. Startled, he gaped.

There was a deep bloody gash trespassing from Will's shoulder down to his elbow.

_That should have immediately incapacitated him... _Maybe this squirt wasn't as weak as he'd thought?

Eric sat there for some time trying to remember any aid he could administer, before shaking his head furiously and jumping up.

_NO...this idiot let Snow get captured! Who cares what happens to him?_

He had trusted him for the first - and last (he mentally noted) - time to keep Snow White safe, believing William loved her as much as he did.

Obviously not!

He couldn't even use his bow and arrow, in which he was apparently the best at.

Spying the weapons on the floor, Eric grabbed them, intent on snapping them. Much use they'd been and will ever be.

Before he could bend them so much as an inch, he heard fluttering noises coming from behind him, and spun round.

Two fairies had flown over to where William lay and were examining the wound.

"Hey! Hey, get away from him!"

Eric ran towards them, waving his arms wildly. Were there such things as bad fairies? He didn't want to wait and find out.

One fairy looked up at him and flew up to his face, effectively stopping him.

"Eric the huntsman, we have heard much about you." The fairy had a majestic female voice, and smiled, making Eric gasp.

_These creatures spoke?_

Determined to take all this in his stride, he asked "What could you have possibly heard about me?"

"You have a great destiny to befall you. You have already taken up the task of protecting the princess Snow White, which will carry on until she becomes Queen. _If _she becomes Queen - it all depends on you."

Eric nodded. That much he knew.

Eyes straying towards William, he saw the other fairy now showering the wound with fairy dust.

Looking back at the fairy in front of him, he gestured towards them. "Why are you helping him?"

"Because he too has a destiny, and it is tightly woven with yours. You cannot succeed without him, just as he cannot succeed without you."

Eric took a step back and shook his head "No...no I've had enough of him. I'm leaving right now - _alone, _to rescue Snow, which is my destiny after all."

He turned around, only to stop short as the fairy appeared in front of him again. "You cannot succeed without him. You are like two sides of the same coin, bound together."

Eric rubbed the bridge of his nose, to keep his temper down. "How exactly am I supposed to succeed with this idiot? He let her go in the first place!"

The fairy tinkled a little, and Eric could have sworn she just laughed.

"That is for you to find out, huntsman. But he may not be as useless as he seems."

"Huh yeah, right." Looking behind him, he saw the wound stitching itself back together, while the other fairy overlooked the work.

Sighing, he turned back to the first fairy "Okay, _fine_. But if he carries on to be so irritating, I'm leaving him to fend for himself! Out of curiosity, what's his destiny?"

The fairy shook her head, and tinkled again. "I cannot say. It is for him to find out in his own time, just as you realised yours by yourself."

With a sound of delight, the second fairy joined the first, and spoke rapidly.

The female one nodded and spoke back, before placing a tiny hand on Eric's cheek.

"Be safe huntsman, look out for each other, and fulfil your destiny!"

With that, both fairies fluttered away.

Eric stood there for a moment, feeling the coolness on his skin from where the hand had been.

Then he came back to his senses "WAIT! Hang on, where in my destiny does it say I have to look after an invalid!"

But the fairies had disappeared, leaving him alone with a sleeping William whose arm - Eric now noticed - had completely healed.

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Please review :D


	4. Instinct

**_Haven:_**_Thank you for your review =D_**  
**

_**Aphroditessister: **Haha, well I'm glad I was the first ;) And I'm sorry it was short - I hope this chapter makes up for it! :)  
_

_**LenaLove: **I understand where you're coming from, but I'm not sure how to use the older English :/ Maybe you could help me out? :P Thank you for your review! :)  
_

**Chapter Four (William's POV):**

William woke peacefully rested. Staring up at the dense canopy above him, he tried to detect what the tingling sensation in his arm was.

Suddenly he sat up straight and looked at his arm. There was absolutely no sign of any wound.

Gingerly prodding it with his other hand, there was no pain or abnormal feeling. It was as good as new!

But what had happened?

Memories started flooding back. Finn had stabbed him, Eric had saved him, but then started trying to kill him because...because Snow White had been captured!

Jumping up, he swayed a little, disorientated.

He must have been asleep for a long time to get such a head rush!

Standing still to calm his head, he looked around and saw the huntsman sleeping against one of the trees.

What was he still doing here? And why/how would he heal someone he had been intent on hurting?

William's eyes strayed to his bow and arrows that were lying on the ground beside where he lay, and he slung them across his back.

He never felt complete without them.

Now he had to get away before Eric woke up and Will found out he was still angry at him.

Hurting the defenceless man while he was unaware never strayed across his mind.

Lightly picking his way through the forest, he tried to find the path which the horse had taken.

This forest was as unfamiliar to William as the Dark forest had been, and he was not a great tracker. Not like the huntsman.

He wondered how that man had become a huntsman, and why. It wasn't like he was a farmer or anything. At least, Will didn't think so.

Maybe he should go back and try reasoning with him? Surely he wasn't _that _bad...?

A twig snapping to his left stopped William short. His head whipped round to the direction in which he'd heard the sound, but couldn't see anything moving.

Maybe it was just a rabbit? Or one of those turtles? Or even a fairy!

Another loud snap vibrated through the ground from the same place.

_Okay, that didn't sound like a fairy..._

Taking his bow and an arrow from his pack, he strung them taught, and stepped quietly towards the area.

He tried to steady his trembling fingers, but the reality was: he didn't know what he was facing, which was terrifying.

Flicking a low hanging branch aside, his eyes darted around the area, but couldn't see anything.

Suddenly a hand covered his mouth, and he was pulled close to somebody's chest.

William tried to elbow the person, but they wrapped a muscly arm around his torso and squeezed a little too hard, successfully making him abandon any attempts at fighting.

"Shh, it's me, you dimwit."

At the sound of the huntsman's voice, Will struggled to control his irrational relief.

This guy _had _just been trying to kill him the last time they were together...

"Keep quiet and remain here while I track it."

Will felt Eric release him and he tried to rub his midriff inconspicuously, hoping it wasn't noticeable.

Turning around, he saw Eric creep through the giant weed stalks.

William dutifully stood in the same spot for a few seconds, then decided that the huntsman couldn't order him around, and followed.

Trying to find Eric's path wasn't easy - he really knew how to cover his tracks.

But then Will heard a massive roar up ahead, and the sound of a weapon clashing on toughened skin.

Racing forward, he stumbled out on an open clearing, with a pile of rocks on the left, and Eric fighting a massive beast on the right.

What was that thing! Will had never seen an animal like it before.

Will saw Eric's head turn a little towards him, which was a mistake, because the monster took the opportunity to swipe at his head.

Eric avoided this deathly blow by arching his back, with just an inch of air separating them.

For a split second, Will considered running away.

But no matter what the huntsman thought of him, he wasn't that type of man.

Sprinting to the pile of rocks on the other side, Will scrambled up them.

Notching an arrow in his bow, this time his hands did not tremble. Making sure his aim was precise, he took a deep breath and let it loose.

There was a slight whistling noise as the arrow arced through the air and hit its target.

With a loud roar, the best reared up on its hind legs and attempted to find his second attacker with only one working eye.

Catching sight of Will, it stamped back down on the ground, causing Eric to make a breakneck manoeuvre to avoid being squashed.

The beast didn't spare Eric another glance, beginning to charge towards where Will stood.

_Oops. That wasn't supposed to happen._

Raising his bow again, this time he didn't have time to aim properly.

He loosed a couple of arrows simultaneously, but they bounced off its hardened skin.

_Damn._

Without second thoughts, he waited until the beast was ready to pounce on him and then did the only thing he could think of.

Letting out a war cry, he jumped off the rocks...and onto the beast's back.

...William was never going to trust his instincts again!

He clung onto the beast's scales (which, he realised, were the reason why nothing could penetrate it) perilously, and really hoped the huntsman was doing what he did best.

Preferably before he was flung off and eaten.

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Please review :)

I'm sorry I didn't know the proper English word for 'dimwit' so I decided to stick with it :)


	5. That's An Order

**_Aphroditessister: _**_Thank you for your review! That is how you spell 'unique' well done :) Thank you so much for calling it unique, you made me fill with pride :)_**  
**

**Chapter Five (Eric's POV):**

Seriously, what had he done in the previous life to get stuck with the most obnoxious kid in the land?

Who - and Eric was asking himself this while furiously thinking of a way to kill the beast before it killed William - _who _flung himself on a bloodthirsty monster's back?

It damn well wasn't heroic - just reckless!

Sprinting towards the beast, he realised the stunt could actually be effective.

While it tried swiping William off its back, Eric had a clear view of the beast's underside. And it wasn't covered in scales.

Reminding himself _not _to thank William after, it took Eric only a few seconds to slide underneath and swing his axe into the place where the beast's heart would be, and embed it deep into its flesh.

There was a hissing noise as the beast drew in its last breath, and Eric tugged his axe out, backing away as fast as he could, because the beast would surely fall forward as it died.

Every creature of nature did in these circumstances.

Waiting at a safe distance for the beast to fall, a terrible thought crept up on him as he watched it.

It seemed to want to defy gravity, and reared up until it was straight as a pillar, and he saw William desperately try to cling on, while his legs dangled down.

The thought then struck him. The beast was going to topple backwards, in a last attempt to kill the annoying human on its back, who'd poked its eye out.

It was cleverer than Eric had given it credit for.

"WILL - MOVE TO THE FRONT! HURRY!"

He saw William look towards him, then the ground, then back at him.

It was almost as if Eric could see the engines of his brain working.

The beast started falling backwards, and Eric prayed that Will would move faster.

He tried to keep him in sight, but with an almighty crash, the beast collided with the ground and a massive cloud of dust rose up, obscuring Eric's view.

Crouching and picking his way forward, he called "William?"

He heard nothing but silence. "William!"

Desperately straining his hearing, he remained still for a long time.

_No...How could this happen? _It hadn't even been a day since the fairy's warning to look after each other, and he had failed!

Finally straightening up, he turned around...and almost cried out.

There, in front of him, was a very much alive William - battered looking, with bruises and scrapes - but alive.

Eric could have hugged him, he was so relieved...

...but of course he didn't, choosing instead to grab him and drag him back to the place they had been resting, his hand firmly clenched around William's arm.

Once there, he turned back around .

"_What _do you think you were doing? I thought I told you to stay where you were?"

"If I did that, you wouldn't be here now."

Okay, that may or may not be true, but the huntsman had given an order, and he had expected it to be followed.

Moving closer to William, he lowered his voice "Next time I give an order, you obey it. If I say 'run' you run, if I tell you to stay still, you stand still."

"But - "

"It doesn't matter if I'm trapped, or about to die or something. You do it, okay?"

William just stared at him, disgruntled.

"Say the words, Will!"

"Okay, I'll do it!"

"Good."

Turning with his back to him, Eric participated in a conflict within his head...

Relenting, he glanced back at Will and said "Err...good bow work by the way."

Eric saw William do his best to hide a smug smile.

"But tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that and so on, until we find Snow and go our separate ways, you'll be training with me on your combat skills. Bright and early."

Grinning at the instant change of expression on William's face, he lay down for the night.

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Please review :)


	6. Push

_I'm sorry it took me FOREVER to write this chapter! D: I hope everyone's still interested (and can even remember what happened in the last chapter :p). Thank you for all your support!_

_I'm not sure whether I should move this story to the Snow White and the Huntsman category :/ Any ideas?_

**_Aphroditessister: _**_I know you now have an account, but I feel like I should answer your review here :) __Sorry about my short chapters, that's just how they come out ^.^ I'm not sure how long it will be, let's see as the story progresses shall we? ;)_

_Enjoy!_

William stared incredulously at Eric. Why was he sleeping again?

They had just woken up!

Looking at the sky, he realised it was getting slightly darker already.

But...why didn't he feel tired? He _had _just been in a battle that had almost cost him his life!

It was strange, but Will didn't bother to worry about it, instead stationing himself as a look-out as the hours went by.

He didn't allow himself to think for too long, because the longer he sat, the further Snow was getting, and it was all his fault.

As soon as the sun began to rise, he saw the huntsman stir and get up.

The first thing Will did was make sure his bow was nearby, just in case Eric wanted to try and kill him again.

When Eric opened his eyes, Will occupied himself with tending to the fire.

He sensed Eric get up and stretch before walking over to his area.

"You've been up all night?"

Will nodded, stabbing at the wood to provoke the embers.

"The fairies must have filled you with energy as well as healed your wounds."

Will raised his eyebrows. "The...fairies?"

"Yes. They only appear at opportune moments with words of _wisdom_" Will heard the derogatory emphasis on the word, but decided not to probe into what they had said, the topic causing Eric obvious discomfort.

Rising, he picked up his bow and quiver. "I'm just going to catch a hare or something edible, for us to eat."

He was about to take off, when Eric said "It would be stupid for that to happen."

Gritting his teeth, he turned around "And why would it - woah!"

Only just twisting out of the way in time to dodge the speeding sword, he fell forward but managed to keep himself stable by flinging his hands out to balance himself.

"What was that for?! I thought you weren't going to kill me."

Eric walked forward, and Will kept a wide gap between them.

Picking up his sword, he shifted into a fighting stance. "I haven't ruled that out. We're not going to eat yet because I'm going to train you. And you can't fight well on a full stomach. I doubt you can fight at all, to be honest."

"That's not fair!"

"The way you ducked away from the sword suggested no warrior technique at all, only an amateur. You didn't even reach for any of your weapons. Hell, you could even have caught this sword and used it!"

"Well, I didn't know I was going to have a sword thrown at me, did I?"

Eric tilted his head from side to side, cracking the bones. "No. But you do now."

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Twisting, ducking, backing away - that's all Will could literally do for the next hour.

Eric was too ferocious, too hardened as a warrior for Will to be able to pick out any mistakes in time to do anything about it.

It didn't help that Will was using a quiver against a sword.

"Hit me! Come on! Or are you too scared I'll beat you again?" Eric spread his arms wide, mocking him with a smile.

Will hesitated, then raced forward, raising his quiver.

Before he could think about what was happening, he was lying flat on the ground, winded, a dull pain developing in his chest.

Eric leant over him, failing to hide a grin "You left your chest open for attack. Bad boy. Up you get, we'll do that again."

Will groaned.

"Do you want to try and rescue Snow with your dismal knowledge of fighting?"

"No." Will grudgingly admitted, getting up and trying to ignore the pain.

"I didn't think so. Now hit me!"

* * *

Another hour went by, during which Will couldn't lay a single blow on Eric.

It was just impossible.

"Seriously, is there _anyone _worse than you I could have as my companion?" Eric complained.

Will glared at him, while resting his hands on his knees and taking huge breaths.

"Come one, slowpoke."

"Are you just going to constantly criticise me?"

"It's for your own good."

"How is calling me _slowpoke _for 'my own good'?!"

"You'll see." Eric was actually smiling - and not in an evil way!

Will rubbed his head. The fairy effect was wearing off.

"Can we eat now?"

"I can't believe you can think of food when Snow is probably in a cold, dark dungeon somewhere, living with vermin."

The sudden shift in Eric's tone caused Will to pause. "Umm, I - "

"I mean, don't you feel any guilt?"

"Of course I do..."

"That's not what it looks like to me. Who ever heard of a man who couldn't fight? Even a dwarf could fight better than you! You want to know what I think? I think you don't want to save Snow."

Will froze, staring at Eric's malice-filled eyes. How could he say something like that?

"You can't speak to me like that."

"I can, and I will. You have no right to Snow. You have no right to have this mission forced upon you. If I were Snow, I'd be scared."

"Stop it."

"I'd be resigned to my fate."

"I said stop!"

Eric slowly walked towards him and sneered.

"I'd sooner be taken by the Queen's brother than rescued by the wimpy so-called soon-to-be Duke."

"STOP!"

Driven by an irrational fury, Will lunged at Eric and struck his chest with his quiver, trying to see through his tear-filled eyes.

Momentarily surprised to have actually come in contact with Eric, Will hesitated.

In a second, he was back on the floor, staring at the sky.

Eric's face came into view, and he was smiling.

Will blinked. Smiling?!

"Looks like we've found your 'push'."

Will considered being too angry to respond, but curiosity won.

"My what?"

"You'r 'push'. Did you see how you couldn't even lay a finger on me, no matter what I called you, until I found the right 'push'? Your 'push' - which is your guilt and feelings for Snow White - can become useful in giving you the urge to fight. But be careful, being pushed too far can be disastrous."

Will rolled his eyes. "So you weren't pushing too far?"

"Nope, I was just getting started. Now, when did you say you were going to catch the hares? I'm starving."

Will's eyes widened in horror at the thought of moving his bruised muscles, until he saw the sparkle in the huntsman's eyes.

Starting to grin, he stood up and offered his bow to Eric.

"Let's see how good _you_ are at shooting arrows, shall we?"

* * *

Please review :)

I wanted to be able to update at least _something _for you all to read :)


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